Scientists told about the ancestors of vampire squids
Miscellaneous / / June 24, 2022
We are talking about representatives of an ancient order of cephalopods that have common features with both squid and octopuses.
Despite the frightening name, modern vampire squid or hellish vampires (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) are obedient and calm inhabitants of the deep sea. However, their Jurassic ancestors (Vampyronassa rhodanica) may have been real killers from the deep.
An analysis of the fossilized soft tissues of three 164-million-year-old specimens of this species led scientists to speculate that ancient cephalopods had everything they needed for deadly hunting.
Unlike its modern relative, V. rhodanica had a more streamlined, muscular body, and a pair of its eight tentacles was twice as long as the other six. Powerful suction cups on all eight limbs could help him grab and hold even fairly large prey.
Modern vampire squids (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) are actually not even squids - these are the only surviving representatives of an ancient order of cephalopods, vampiromorphs that have common features with both squid and octopuses.
Nowadays, representatives of this relict species are rather passive in their search for food, consuming mainly particles of dead plankton. But the ancient ancestors, apparently, were quite creepy and dangerous predators.
Paleontologist Alison Rowe of the Sorbonne University in Paris notesthat v. rhodanica had a very different way of life. A pair of its tentacles, connected directly to the round layers of muscle, made it possible to significantly increase the force of compression and pressure, leaving no chance for its victim. It was hardly possible to get out of such embraces.
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